In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a prophecy foretells that Macbeth will one day be king. But instead of leaving it to fate, Lady Macbeth cunningly manipulates him into killing the king. However, killing King Duncan creates more problems than it resolves. Macbeth’s mind deteriorates after this murder, and he finds himself killing for no reason because life is now meaningless to him. This continuation of his failing sanity also presents itself during and following the later murder scenes of Banquo, his friend, and Macduff’s family. Lady Macbeth, however, is able to conceal the inner turmoil she is feeling, and initially appears unaffected by the crimes. But as the play progresses, Lady Macbeth feels distressed that MacBeth continues to kill, …show more content…
ii. 15-17). At this time, Macbeth fears Banquo and Banquo’s sons because they may one day reveal him for who he is or succeed him in power, and in his mind, he needs to kill them to feel secure. The metaphor of the snake allows Macbeth to separate Banquo and Fleance from their humanity, making killing a more logical option. Then Macbeth declares that “all is but toys,” and he begins to believe that since he has done the unforgivable, all life is meaningless. Though he states this so definitively, he retains some of his humanity, until he actually goes through with the brutal killing of his once dear friend, and later MacDuff’s family. (II.iii. 70). He is gaining the ability to rationalize murder, which Lady Macbeth seems to have lost. In this same scene, Lady Macbeth appears not quite satisfied with what they have, but she seems unwilling or not ambitious enough to kill for it. And thus the power has changed hands; by allowing his paranoia to control him, Macbeth now kills of his own accord, while before he was merely his wife’s puppet. Instead of Lady Macbeth ruling in “manly” power, Macbeth himself now rules his brutal actions. Shakespeare shows that power naturally corrupts humans, while guilt, sorrow, and reason make them human. In an earlier scene in the play, Macbeth mentioned that his only motive to kill Duncan would be ambition, and this same ambition is now controlling him: he will not rest until all potential threats are eliminated. The reason that was present when he originally decided not to kill Duncan has since fled, and with it his humanity. He tells Lady Macbeth to “let [her] remembrance/apply to Banquo; present him eminence/both with eye and tongue: unsafe the while that we/must lave our honors in these flattering streams/and make our faces vizards
Macbeth is the remaining contributor to turning himself into the power-hungry animal he is before he is finally taken down. Macbeth let himself get talked into killing Duncan; he rationalizes with himself to kill Banquo. He is too ambitious. As soon as the witches cast the prophecy that he would be King, Macbeth lets himself be jealous. Once it is an option, he realizes how divine it would be to be King. Now, Macbeth will do what is necessary to get there, even if he suffers terrible consequences. After killing Duncan, Macbeth suffers by not being able to speak. “As they seen me with these hangman’s hands,/List’ning their fear. I could not say ‘Amen’/When they did say ‘God bless us’” (2.2.38-40). Macbeth cannot utter the sacred words of God; moreover, this illustrates to the reader how terrible the consequences are psychologically for this murder. Macbeth is also jealous of the prophecy Banquo gets, which also drives him to kill Banquo. Soon after he kills Banquo, Macbeth hosts a banquet, where Banquo’s seat is left empty. Only Macbeth truly knows what has happened to Banquo. However, he hallucinates that Banquo is at the table with all the guests when Macbeth says, “Avaunt, and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee./Thy bones are marrowless; thy blood is cold;/Thou hast no speculation in those eyes/Which thou dost glare with” (3.4.113-116). Macbeth is seeing Banquo at his banquet even after he ordered murders to kill Banquo and Fleance, Banquo’s son. Macbeth cannot believe his eyes, he is shocked at the sight of Banquo and he is losing his mind. Macbeth endures horrific hallucinations, falling into the depths of insanity. These two quotations in the play are very important because they emphasize how Macbeth has turned into a mon...
After the slaughter of his former comrade, Macbeth explains to his wife, “Strange things I have in head that will to hand/Which must be acted ere they may be scanned” (3.4.137-140). This assertion from Macbeth paves the path for his future misdeeds. Lady Macbeth is concerned by her husband’s announcement and responds with, “You lack the season of all natures, sleep” (3.4.141). Lady Macbeth believes that her husband has lost his sanity. She no longer supports Macbeth’s murderous plans, and resents his new impulsivity. Following this conversation, Macbeth continues to kill harmless people, such as Macduff’s wife and children. He implies that he will no longer think about his actions before completing them, which is a deranged approach to life. The change in Macbeth’s behavior reshapes Lady Macbeth’s personality. She realizes that “what’s done cannot be undone” (5.1.57). Lady Macbeth now recognizes the lasting impact of the murders on herself and her husband. Initially Lady Macbeth approves Duncan’s murder, as it leads to her queenship. Her sadism and zeal for power declines after Macbeth’s killing spree. Lady Macbeth’s newfound heart is the outcome of her husband’s wicked
They prophesize fate and present it to Macbeth. When the witches first encounter Macbeth they greet him by saying, “All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king thereafter!”(1.3, 51-53). Baffled by the witches’ loyalty, Macbeth is soon crowned Thane of Cawdor. He starts to gain confidence and promise in the witches’ prophecies, leading Macbeth to be driven to become king. This drive pushes him to kill King Duncan of Scotland. Though he allows his desireful and determined character to achieve his fate of becoming king, he suffers the consequences of severe guilt due to his lack of impatience. If Macbeth was not as ambitious, the thought of killing Duncan would have never crossed his mind. As his mind becomes more power hungry, Macbeth sends three murderers to kill Banquo. Banquo has a chance of becoming king and the only way for Macbeth to make sure that does not happen is if he kills Banquo. Macbeth’s mind is so corrupted that he is willing to kill his own friend to maintain his fate and through his, he shows the audience his true nature. Faced by fate, Macbeth’s ambitious actions eventually leads to his death. In the beginning of the tragedy Macbeth judgment is more ethical and clear. He utters that “[he has] no spur to prick the sides of [his] intent, but only vaulting
After the death of King Duncan, Macbeth becomes the more controlling one, and Lady Macbeth’s guilt eventually becomes too much for her to handle which leads to her death. Lady Macbeth is in fact the one that performs the preparations for the murder of King Duncan, but still shows some signs of humanity by not committing the murder herself because he resembles "My father as he slept". After the murder has been committed, she also shows signs of being a strong person because she calms Macbeth down in order to keep him from going insane.
With his ambition guiding him Macbeth kills king Duncan in Act II scene i and Banquo in Act III scene ii. To become king Macbeth kills Duncan and Banquo to achieve his goal of gaining more power and to hide the information that Banquo knows about his prophecy. In his eyes, he believes that Banquo is a threat and compares him to a snake. Macbeth says to his wife, after hearing about the murder of Banquo, "We have only scorched the snake, not killed it. She'll close and be herself whilst our poor malice remains in danger of her former tooth" (III.ii.15-16). He explains to her that by killing Banquo he has only hurt the enemy but his son Fleance and others, still live and can turn against him. Macbeth acts upon his ambition to become king by killing Duncan, the king, so that he may claim the throne. But as long as Banquo knows about Macbeth's prophecy and ambition, Macbeth will always be at
After a long and hard battle, the Sergeant says to King Duncan, “For brave Macbeth,-well he deserves that name,- disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smok’d with bloody execution , like valour’s minion carv’d out his passage till he fac’d the slave;” (1.2.16) . This quote shows that Macbeth is viewed as a valiant soldier and a capable leader. However, it does not take long for the real Macbeth to be revealed- a blindly ambitious man, easily manipulated by the prospect of a higher status. His quest for power is what drives his insanity, and after having been deemed the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s ambition can immediately be seen. In a soliloquy, Macbeth says, “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings; my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastica, shakes so my single state of man that function is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (1.3.140). Macbeth has just gained more power, and his immediate thought is of how to gain an even higher status as king. He imagines how to kill Duncan, and then is troubled by his thoughts, telling himself it is wrong. This inner struggle between Macbeth’s ambition and his hesitation to kill Duncan is the first sure sign of his mental deterioration. Although Macbeth does kill Duncan, he questions whether or not he should to do so, which is far different from how Macbeth feels about murder later in the play. Macbeth becomes king, and this power leads
Almost everybody has dealt with somebody who tries to control everything and manipulate the people around them. In William Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, Macbeth deals with somebody who manipulates him into killing Duncan, the soon to be king. That person is Lady Macbeth, a manipulative but ambitious women. Throughout the whole play, Lady Macbeth holds the most power to influence the actions of Macbeth.
Firstly, Macbeth's worsening mental state, hinders his ability to make reasonable and calculated decisions which only spurs his downfall as a result of his egregious and shameful actions. Macbeth demonstrates how the conflict in his consciousness alters his mental state for the worse as he starts to hallucinate and not think of the consequences of his actions. After a quick discussion with Banquo late at night, Macbeth decides to continue on with his plan to kill Duncan despite realising that Banquo’s loyalties still lie with the King in spite of Banquo also knowing about the prophecy. Macbeth starts to hallucinate a bloody dagger similar to his own, encouraging him that killing Duncan is the right choice, suddenly has the bell rings Macbeth states, “ I
Sometimes people become at war with themselves because of a decision they must make. Often times a person is faced with choices that could alter their entire life, or the lives of those around them. A particularly impressionable person would be easily manipulated in one direction or another. A perfect example of this is in Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth; the title hero faces this exact issue throughout the play. Macbeth is pulled in two different directions; in one, towards his morals, and in the other, towards the evil that external forces are trying to manipulate him to do.
- The witches explain that everything is foggy and unclear and the boundaries between real and surreal are weak and thin.Fate
Macbeth’s provocative or violent actions on the challenges placed before him cause him to build an effect of downfall and dismay throughout the play. Originally, Macbeth handles his challenges in different ways and manners and is constantly changing his procedure. From handling situations carefully to not caring, Macbeth and his violence resulted in guilt and selfishness which he had to overcome. By the end of the play, Macbeth had become a selfish, greedy king and the challenges as well as experiences he encountered shaped him into who he is. He was shaped by the guilt of killing Banquo and Duncan, just to become powerful and a king. For example, in Act 3 Scene 4, Macbeth faces adversity when his mind creates a ghost of Banquo, who he just found out was killed. In Macbeth, the uprising of adversity was often handled in various manners. By dealing with his own challenges, Macbeth transforms his handling of adversity from being cautious to thoughtless, which reflected his character and the transformation he portrayed throughout the
Macbeth's wife, Lady Macbeth, is one of the most frightening and powerful female character in the play. Both of them are trying to seek the throne and become king and queen.
As a continuation, vaulting ambition from the supernatural prophecies lead Macbeth to do terrible things in a way where he would forsake friendships and any possible threats for power. This provides proof of where the motivation and action of the supernatural situates.
Macbeth's lust for power becomes so great that even with the crown on his head and new title as King, Macbeth continues to seek prophecy from the Witches in order keep his place as King and ensure that no one plans to do unto him as he did unto his once King. When Macbeth sends to kill Fleance, the son of Banquo, because of a prophecy from the Witches that the son of Banquo will reign King, shows just how corrupted and evil the kind of Macbeth has become. Macbeth begins to experience hallucinations of Banquo's blood body after receiving news that Fleance escaped and Banquo had been killed instead, his character continues to go through numerous changes as the guilt of his vile actions begin to catch up to
At the end of the play this character feels guilt for what she has done and has taken the personality, which was that of her husband in the beginning.At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth speaks and shows her shows how cruel and heartless she really is; "And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty". This shows she has no good in her, what so ever. Macbeth on the other hand, began as a good respectable character. When Lady Macbeth speaks of killing Duncan, he gives many reasons for reasons that he could not do so. Some of the reasons he gives in that speech are, that Duncan respects him, and trusts Macbeth. Duncan is also related to him by blood, and if he were to kill him he would never be able to rid himself of the guilt; wash the blood from his hands.At the climax of the play Macbeth makes plans to kill Banquo, with out Lady Macbeth, without anyone.